Saturday, October 20, 2012

The start of the 2012 NBA Season is just around the corner, I want to reach out to my Laker Fans and say that time is of the essence for our beloved superstar Mr. Kobe Bryant. This year is important for us, it's The Finals our bust and deep down Laker Fans we all know this. Kobe is an Elite Player at the end of his journey he will be used as the focal point of the offense on some nights and other nights his team mates will carry the load.

Kobe Bryant isn't a good loser and we as Laker Fans don't want him to be. The question is how do we take the keys away from our aging superstar and still keep him happy and productive. How do we allow Kobe to be Kobe and still keep Dwight Howard the next face of the franchise smiling and ready for his closeup?

I guess that's why we play the games, if nothing else the Lakers will be good TV and at the end of the day it's all entertainment. I love the new additions that the front office made and like most NBA Insiders we want Kobe & Lebron in the finals, has anyone seen CP3. I see the Lakers winning 60 games and meeting the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

I’m paddling idly in
the cool waters off the Split, wondering if I should drag myself to the
bar of the Lazy Lizard for a beer. I’ve spent the morning snorkeling off
the Barrier Reef, viewing coral formations and brightly-colored fish.
Now, with evening coming on, I’m taking a last swim in Caye Caulker’s
best-known swimming spot before showering and dressing for dinner.
Though here, "dressing" is pretty casual... it means I’ll probably put
on flip-flops rather than going barefoot. Probably.

These days Caye
Caulker, a five-mile-long island off Belize’s Caribbean coast, has the
laid-back, beach-bum vibe that brought expats to nearby Ambergris Caye
20 years ago. The streets on Caye Caulker are still packed sand. Most
people get around by bicycle. And for those who come here, life is all
about the water.

Small-town, island
beach life isn’t for everyone. But if it’s for you, it doesn’t get much
better than Caye Caulker. And real estate here is still surprisingly
affordable. Lots, depending on where they are, can run well under
$50,000. Simple vacation cottages start at less than $100,000. And on an
island this small, no place is far from the beach.

If you want to be
near the action—the restaurants, bars, dive shops, and Internet
cafes—look at properties in the village along the three main north-south
streets. (They’re named Front, Middle, and Back.) The village is the
most expensive part of the island, especially for waterfront, but you
can still find bargains.

A small two-bedroom,
two-bath on Middle Street, for instance, was recently for sale for
$225,000. It’s not on the water—but the island at this point is only
three blocks wide, so the sea is very close. Want an easy business? A
large, fenced property near the village is going for $279,000. It
already has four cabanas on it that are vacation rentals, with plenty of
room to build more.

Most expats, though,
tend to settle well south of the village area, where they can enjoy
greater privacy and quiet. There are some neighborhoods here, with names
like Bahía Puesta del Sol, Pelican Point, and Eden Isle. You’ll find a
few homes for sale—for example, a 720-square-foot, two-bedroom home,
with three extra rooms for short-term rental, is currently for sale for
$178,000. But much of this area is still jungled undergrowth, and people
tend to buy lots to build on. Eden Isle is still off the grid.

You get great bang
for your buck on this part of the island, yet you’re only a 10- to
15-minute bicycle ride to town. A 5,400-square-foot corner lot near Caye
Caulker’s southern tip, for instance, with sea views in two directions,
was recently on offer for $49,000. One row back, a lot just as big was
going for $34,500.

In Caye Caulker you
can build homes up to three stories high. And while you can build a
large, luxurious home, you don’t have to. One expat couple I met settled
for a simple, one-bedroom wooden house by the sea, with an outside deck
for enjoying their morning coffee. The house was built to order by
workers from Belize’s industrious Mennonite community... who showed up
at the lot one morning and put up the house in a flat seven days. The
cost: just $10,000.

Walk down any street or narrow village lane in tiny Belize (only about the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island) and you’ll hear any one of a half dozen or more languages—pretty remarkable in a country that's less-populated than many U.S. cities (320,000 inhabitants).

But this little country is far more diverse than most U.S. cities. (Happier, too, I’d say, judging from the infectious smiles.) And most of its population is not just bi-lingual, but tri-lingual.

English is the official language of the country, formerly known as the colony of British Honduras. (In 1980 it won its independence from Great Britain and has appeared on maps as Belize (or Belice in the Spanish language) ever since.

Spanish is another language you’ll often hear, thanks to the country’s borders with Mexico and Guatemala. Most Belizeans speak both English and Spanish.

Some Belizeans speak Mayan. The Maya were the original inhabitants of this part of the world, and they’re still here in large numbers. If you think Belize is just a Caribbean diving and snorkeling destination, think again. The traditional Maya communities and ancient archaeological sites that have been uncovered in its dense, lush jungles should be on the "must-see" lists of any travelers here.

Many shopkeepers, especially in Belize City and Corozal are of Chinese descent (with a sprinkling of Taiwanese and Korean, too). Some are descendants of the 480 Chinese immigrants that were brought to British Honduras in 1865 as indentured laborers on the ship "The Light of the Ages". They went to work in the timber camps, but a year later, about 100 of them deserted. Another group came just before the outbreak of World War II. Controlling much of the economy, they’ve become dominant players in the grocery, restaurant, fast food, and lottery trades.

More than 10,000 conservative Prussian Mennonites live near an inland town called Spanish Lookout in the Cayo district, where farms and grazing land stretch for miles. Known for their cheese-making and carpentry skills, they speak German. You can outfit your Belizean home with furniture made by these fine craftsmen or even commission them to make a complete exquisite cabin for you out of Belizean hardwoods that virtually last forever. (A decent-sized cabin will cost less than $30,000.)

There’s one more language spoken in Belize—it’s the most common of all. While Belizean children are taught English at school, out and about, everyone speaks Kriol. It’s heavily influenced by the Garifuna people, descendants of African slaves, who escaped captivity in the Western Indies and settled in Belizean coastal villages like Dangriga and Seine Bight in the early 1830s. They have a strong, vibrant culture and language all their own.

This melting pot of cultures is what makes Belize unique in Central America…in the world, if truth be told. Nowhere else can you find such diversity, such tolerance, and yes… cheesy as it sounds… such love for people of so many different ethnic and economic backgrounds. Belizeans may be the friendliest people on the planet. And I’m guessing they got that way because they learned early on that we all have to live together and the best way to do that is happily.

What it all boils down to is this: no matter what language you speak, chances are good you’ll find someone to talk to in Belize. Even better odds are that they’ll have a great big happy smile on their face.

Editor's note: Whether you’re drawn to Corozal or the Cayo…or one of the many beach options in Belize…get everything you need in our "Ultimate Escape to Belize Kit," which makes this country so easy, you could be living the tropical dream before you know it.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Everyone's at IL'sFast-Track Your Retirement Overseas Conference
in Las Vegas (look for your insider reports tomorrow), including
Glynna. She plans to tempt readers with stories of Mexico's turquoise
beaches and colonial highlands, and the charming towns of northern
Spain...as well as revealing everything you need to know about
international health insurance.

She runs through the basics below. If you want to get a recording of her presentation, just sign up here.

Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards

* * *

Expat Health Insurance 101
By Glynna Prentice

Recently I was in
Peru and went white-water rafting for the first time. It wasn’t
particularly dangerous, but bangs, scrapes, and a dunk in the water are
always a possibility. I didn’t worry, though: In the unlikely event that
I sustained an injury, there was a good hospital nearby—and I have
health insurance to cover it.

Health
insurance—qualifying for it, paying for it, and keeping it—is one of the
biggest worries we hear about from folks in the U.S. But since I moved
abroad it hasn’t been a problem for me. And if you’re thinking of moving
abroad, it likely doesn’t have to be a problem for you, either. As an
expat, you’ll have a range of health care solutions available to you.
Your choice is deciding which option (or options) makes the most sense
for your situation.

My health
insurance plan back in New York, for instance, wouldn’t have covered me
outside the U.S. This is pretty common with U.S. health insurance. In
fact, I’d have paid a healthy premium if I’d had to use medical services
outside New York. Again, this isn’t unusual with U.S. plans.

That’s not the
case with my health insurance in Mexico. My plan here covers me not only
throughout Mexico, but abroad as well—whether I’m in Tampa, Toulouse,
or Timbuktu. I travel a lot, so this is important to me.

Plus, if I pay
out-of-pocket for some procedures, that’s no biggie, either. In Latin
America, for instance—where I mostly travel—medical care across the
board costs about a quarter to a half of what you’d pay in the States.
These days I pay about $35 out-of-pocket to see a specialist in
Mexico—which is possibly less than my co-pay would be if I were still in
the U.S.

Even in
Europe—which many people tsk-tsk as being expensive—health care costs
can be affordable. Last summer I went to the doctor in Spain. He sent
the bill back to my Mexican insurance company, but I saw the charge: 60
euros—about $84 at the time.

I don’t generally worry about quality of care, either. In the countries International Living
covers regularly, excellent doctors and hospitals tend to be the rule,
rather than the exception. Most expats find their health care abroad at least as good as what they had back home—and often more accessible.

Admittedly, if
you have a rare health condition, moving abroad is not something to do
on a whim. You may well be better off with your existing doctors, who
know your situation.

But for most of us, the answer is simpler: Don’t let health care hold you back if you want to move abroad.